Hosta plant named ‘Silver Bullet’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct Hosta plant named ‘Silver Bullet’ producing small-sized rounded mounds of dense, basal, cordate to nearly rounded, flat, leaves with broadly acute to rounded apices, cordate bases and slightly impressed veins. The leaves are highly-glaucous intense bluish-green and hold their color through the season. The campanulate flowers are pale lavender striped opening just above the foliage beginning in early July for about two weeks. ‘Silver Bullet’ is useful in the landscape, as a container plant, a specimen or en masse.

Botanical classification: Hosta hybrid (Tratt.).

Variety denomination: ‘Silver Bullet’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

Hosta ‘Silver Bullet’ was first introduced by the inventor as anon-enabling description in registration of the name in early 2021 withthe International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus Hosta.No plants of Hosta ‘Silver Bullet’ have been sold in this country oranywhere in the world, nor has any enabling disclosure of the new plantbeen made.

BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct Hosta plant, Hosta‘Silver Bullet’ hereinafter also referred to as the new plant or by thecultivar name, ‘Silver Bullet’. Hosta ‘Silver Bullet’ was hybridized bythe inventor on Jul. 11, 2013 at a wholesale perennial nursery inZeeland, Mich., USA. The female parent was the proprietary, unnamedunreleased streaked sport of ‘Love Pat’ (not patented) and the maleparent was the proprietary, unnamed unreleased hybrid known only asH10-210-2 (not patented). The seeds from this cross were planted in thefall of 2013 and a single seedling selection from this cross eventuallyproduced the new plant. The new plant was assigned the breeder code13-83-1 and passed the initial evaluation in the summer of 2018. ‘SilverBullet’ has been asexually propagated by division at the same nurserysince 2018 and also by careful shoot tip plant tissue culture with theresultant asexually propagated plants having retained all the sametraits as the original plant. Hosta ‘Silver Bullet’ has been stable andreproduced true to type plants in successive generations of asexualreproduction.

There are nearly 7,000 registered and established Hosta cultivars withThe American Hosta Society, which is the International CultivarRegistration Authority for the genus Hosta. Several of these haveblue-green leaf blades. The most similar Hosta cultivars known to theapplicant are: ‘Dorset Blue’ (not patented), ‘Blue Boy’ (not patented),‘Blue Chip’ (not patented), ‘Blue Ice’ (not patented), ‘Buckshaw Blue’(not patented), ‘Hadspen Blue’ (not patented), ‘Love Pat’ (notpatented), ‘Prairie Sky’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,309, ‘Blue Elf’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 30,832, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ (not patented) and ‘BlueBiscuit’ (not patented).

The female parent is larger in habit with larger, more cupped andbullate leaves that are less glaucous and streaked with yellow andbluish-green, and the scapes are longer with more flowers per scape. Themale parent has a larger, broader and more horizontal habit, the foliageis green and the scapes, more floriferous and taller and it sets seedsmore readily.

The habit of ‘Dorset Blue’ is smaller and slower growing with leavesthat are longer than wide. ‘Blue Boy’ is larger in habit, the foliage ismore cordate and less rounded, and leaf color is more greenish. ‘BlueChip’ has a smaller habit with smaller foliage and the foliage color hasa less bluish-green hue. ‘Blue Ice’ is slower growing, has a smallerhabit and smaller foliage, the leaf color is a lighter blue and the leafshape is more cupped and cordate. ‘Buckshaw Blue’ is larger in habitwith foliage that is more cordate and less rounded. ‘Hadspen Blue’ hasleaves that are more cordate, more bullate. ‘Love Pat’ has a largerplant with foliage that is more bullate and cupped and the scapes arelonger with more flowers. ‘Prairie Sky’ has a larger habit with largermore bullate foliage and flowers on shorter scapes over shorter period.‘Blue Elf’ has a smaller habit with smaller, with less glaucous,lighter-substance (thinner) foliage. ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ has a shorterhabit with less glaucous and lighter-substance foliage and the flowersare darker lavender colored with purple stripes. ‘Blue Biscuit’ has asmaller habit with smaller, with less glaucous, more cupped, morebullate and lighter-substance foliage.

Other Hosta cultivars may have individual traits similar to ‘SilverBullet’, but the new plant differs from the above listed cultivars andall other Hostas known to the applicant, by the combination of thefollowing traits.

-   -   1. Leaves are small-sized, cordate to nearly rounded, and heavy        substance with broadly acute to rounded apices and cordate        bases;    -   2. Leaves are mostly flat with slightly impressed veins;    -   3. Leaf color is an intense bluish-green and holds well through        the season;    -   4. Campanulate flowers with narrow apices are pale lavender on        short bluish-green scapes just above the foliage beginning in        early-July;    -   5. Flowers are densely arranged on scapes with the first flowers        beginning to open just above the foliage;    -   6. The habit is a small-sized rounded mound with leaves densely        packed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photograph of the new plant demonstrates the overall appearance ofthe new plant, including the unique traits. The colors are as accurateas reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum,temperature, source and direction may cause the appearance of minorvariation in color.

The drawings show a seven-year-old plant of ‘Silver Bullet’ in a shadedtrial garden at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplement fertilizerand water as needed.

FIG. 1 shows the landscape foliage habit of a plant in late summer.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of a leaf of a plant.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up of a flower and bud.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Hosta ‘Silver Bullet’,has not been observed under all possible environments. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that certain characteristics will vary withplants that are more mature or plants that are less mature. Thephenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions,such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, butwithout any change in the genotype. The following observations and sizedescriptions are of a seven-year-old plant in a shaded trial garden inZeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer.

-   Botanical classification: Hosta x hybrid;-   Parentage: Female or seed parent is a proprietary streaked sport of    ‘Love Pat’; male or pollen parent is H10-210-2, a hybrid of ‘Blue    Mouse Ears’;-   Propagation: Garden division and sterile shoot tip tissue culture;-   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture: About three weeks;

Docket No. HSSBU-21.53 Page 4 of 10

-   Growth rate: Slow;-   Crop time: About five months to seven months to finish during the    spring in a one-liter container from rooted tissue culture plantlet    during the warm portion of the growing season;-   Rooting habit: Fleshy, lightly branching;-   Root color: Nearest RHS NN155C when actively growing;-   Plant shape and habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette    of leaves emerging from rhizomes producing a medium-sized mound of    outwardly to slightly upwardly petioles and leaves and mostly    outwardly angled scapes flowering slightly above the foliage;-   Plant size: Foliage height to about 28 cm above soil line to the top    of the leaves, to about 33 cm tall to the top of the flowers and to    about 56 cm wide at the widest point just above the soil line;-   Foliage description: Rounded to nearly cordate; broadly acute to    rounded apex, cordate base; margin entire; flat, not sinuate; not    bullate; veins moderately impressed; glabrous and highly glaucous    both surfaces; flexible; not variegated;-   Leaf blade size: To about 12.7 cm long and about 12.7 cm wide about    halfway from the apex; average about 11.2 cm long and 10.5 cm wide;-   Leaf blade color: Early season and expanding adaxial between RHS    N138A and RHS 137A, abaxial between RHS 146A and RHS N138A;    mid-season and mature adaxial between RHS 137A and RHS N189D with    wax and with wax removed between RHS 131A and RHS 139A, abaxial    between RHS 138A and RHS 191D with wax, and nearest RHS 138A without    wax;-   Veins: 8 to 10 pairs with midrib; slightly impressed adaxial and    slightly costate and smooth abaxial;-   Vein color: Young adaxial nearest RHS 138A and abaxial nearest RHS    138B; mature adaxial nearest RHS 191B with proximal midrib variable,    nearest RHS 115D and between RHS 145C and RHS 145D, and abaxial    nearest RHS 191B;-   Petiole: Glabrous and glaucous both adaxial and abaxial; moderately    concavo-convex proximally and shallowly distally; stiff; outwardly;    to 17 cm long, 20 mm wide at base, broadening to about 24 mm before    blade, about 5 mm deep at base, average about 15 cm long and 9 mm    wide and 4 mm deep;-   Petiole color: Adaxial nearest RHS N138B, abaxial nearest RHS N138B    with midrib nearest RHS 145B;-   Flower description:-   Buds one to two days prior to opening: Clavate with broadly acute    apex and narrow tube and rounded base; about 32 mm long and 11 mm in    diameter at the widest portion in the bulb, tube to about 14 mm long    and to about 3 mm diameter at base, tapering rapidly beyond bulb;-   Bud color one to two days prior to opening: Corolla tube between RHS    193B and RHS NN155D, bulb between RHS 76B and RHS 76D, less    pigmented closer to opening;-   Flowers: Perfect; incomplete; campanulate; attitude outwardly to    slightly drooping; to 41 mm long to exserted pistil; corolla to 38    mm long and 25 mm wide at apex, fused in basal 18 mm, free in the    distal 7 mm, decreasing in size distally; corolla tube portion 16 mm    long and rapidly tapering to 3 mm diameter at base; with rounded    base; flowers tightly arranged on scape;-   Flowering lasting: Persists for a normal period, usually    individually about one day on plant;-   Flowering period: Scapes remain effective with flowers beginning    early July for about two weeks; with about 10 to 12 flowers per    scape; mostly secund;-   Fragrance: No detectable fragrance;-   Tepal: Two sets of three; clavate; entire margins; acute apex; fused    in basal 18 mm; glabrous adaxial and abaxial; inner set to about 7    mm wide and 38 mm long; outer set to about 6 mm wide and 38 mm long;-   Tepal color: Outer set adaxial distally between RHS NN155D and RHS    76D in 3 mm longitudinal center and nearest RHS NN155C along edges,    abaxial nearest RHS 76D; inner set between RHS NN155D and RHS 76D in    3 mm longitudinal center and nearest RHS NN155C along edges, abaxial    between RHS NN155D and lighter than RHS 76D, with a 0.5 mm    translucent margin; corolla tube adaxial nearest RHS NN155C, abaxial    between RHS NN155D and RHS 93B;-   Gynoecium: Single; to about 41 mm long; superior;    -   -   Style.—Cylindrical; glabrous; to about 36 mm long and 0.7 mm            diameter; straight with distal 5 mm arcuate upwards to about            90°; color nearest RHS 157C.        -   Stigma.—Puberulent; tri-lobed; about 1 mm long and 1 mm            diameter; color between RHS 157D and RHS 157C.        -   Ovary.—Ellipsoidal; superior; apex rounded; base rounded to            truncate; sides smooth, about 4 mm long and 2.5 mm diameter;            color nearest RHS 145A.-   Androecium: Six;    -   -   Filaments.—Six; cylindrical; approximately 38 mm long and            0.5 mm in diameter; curved or bent upwardly about 90° in the            distal 5 mm; color in distal one-half nearest RHS NN155B            transitioning to nearest RHS 145D in the proximal one-third.        -   Anthers.—Oblong with rounded apices; basifixed,            longitudinally dehiscent; about 3.5 mm long and 2 mm wide            when fully developed; color between RHS 166C and RHS 166B.        -   Pollen.—Abundant; spherical; less than 0.1 mm long; color            nearest RHS 21B.-   Peduncle: Cylindrical; usually one per mature division; about four    per plant; glabrous; moderately glaucous; angular to arching; to    about 33 cm long, and about 6 mm in diameter at base, average about    29 cm tall and 5 mm diameter at base;-   Inflorescence: Flowering portion to about 6 cm long and 5 cm wide;    with single bract subtending each flower; about 110 to 12 flowers    per inflorescence;-   Peduncle color: Between RHS N138C and RHS 138A;-   Pedicel: Cylindrical; glabrous; slightly glaucous; to about 7 mm    long and 2 mm diameter, decreasing distally; attitude outwardly in    flower;-   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 193A;-   Floral bracts: Each flower normally subtended by a single bract;    ovate; acute apex and truncate base; entire margin; glabrous and    slightly glaucous abaxial and adaxial; to about 10 mm long 5 mm    wide, decreasing distally;-   Bract color: Between RHS N138C and RHS 138A;-   Fruit: Not yet observed, but fecundity unknown;-   Seeds: Not yet observed;-   Disease resistance: The thick glaucous leaves provide some    resistance to slug feeding. Other resistance to pests (including:    Odocoileus virginianus and Oryctotagus cuniculus) and diseases    common to Hostas is equal that typical of other cultivars.-   Growth: The new plant grows best and shows best coloration with    plenty of moisture, adequate drainage and light shade, but is able    to tolerate some drought when mature.-   Hardiness: at least from USDA zone 3 through 8, and other disease    resistance is typical of that of other Hostas.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Hosta plant named Hosta ‘SilverBullet’ as herein described and illustrated.